Holy hell. Even after so many episodes, Chihayafuru not only keeps it together but releases development after development for the audience’s glee. You can only believe the tension and adrenaline each episode brings whenever it’s around a match and this time, Mizusawa Karuta-bu being their strongest yet was a sight to see against their new challenger Homei. So, how did you find the recent episode, Kara?

So not many FEELS this episode (minus THAT SCENE), but it was still an action packed episode full of great developments!! I love it when the Mizusawa team overcomes hurdles (successfully) like they did this episode, and they provided the right amount of drama in here too. It wasn’t even romantic drama (minus THAT SCENE) either, but good old fashioned Karuta drama. Long story short, this was a great episode~.

Arata, “Dad, at least try to give the audience a good impression rather than skimming food from ji-san…”

// Arata’s Wish – I’ve been commenting about how I miss Arata and there he was in the beginning of this episode. I look forward to the day when he would actually be around for the ENTIRE episode rather than few scenes. Like his friends in Tokyo, he too, misses them and it’s not the pink cellphone (what is this, I don’t even….) that has kept him in touch but the passion of Karuta is the thread that connects the trio. It was a surprise to see his parents being so easy-going. Whatever financial problems hinted before were light-heartedly explained away with his dad shifting to Tokyo for a while, running from his own dad who didn’t like his career choice. Though, the old Meijin did get his wish granted when his grandson took to the game he so loved. What most interests me is Arata’s wish if he wins the regional, which I’m betting on he will. Maybe he wants to go back to Tokyo for his last term to play with his buddies? I wish! Do you have any theories about what he will ask for?

Student Vs Master

// Homei’s Strategies – Mizusawa actually had a hard time this episode! Well, a bit of a hard time since Taichi came back eventually, but more on that later. Homei’s strategies were perfectly fair, but you have to admit that there was a bit of unfairness there in the fact that not only did they know all of Harada’s teachings about offensive Karuta, but Tsuboguchi had also known Chihaya and Taichi practically since they started playing the game and on the other hand, they knew nothing about his team. It was a tricky move for sure, but again, Tsuboguchi didn’t really do anything wrong. He just applied his knowledge effectively and instructed his team as such.

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWW

// Chihaya’s Crush – Oh, Chihaya, why are you so precious?! Such a school-girl with crush on her senpai! Highly adorable even to the chagrin of our Taichi-bro. I wasn’t expecting Tsuboguchi to crop up with Homei team so soon (with his previous failure against Suo), but there he was and of course, Chihaya has to be impressed, the Karuta-nerd that she is. It was all pretty natural; however, my heart fluttered and DAWWWW’d when she bowled over Desk-kun to give her beary- (yes, her favourite nerdy character), towel to Taichi. DAT SCENE was so touching and the look both shared… HNNNNNNG. There’s hope for our Taichi-bro for sure. Like never before, our Chihaya was bombarded with loose-advances (that loser player against her didn’t have anything on her, mattaku!), handsome senpai along with a friend in need and possibly more than that later. Like our homeroom teacher observed in the previous episode, Chihaya gets some of the hints thrown at her but her grasping skills are a bit shaky when it comes to some of the most obvious things, like Taichi’s feelings for her. She’ll realize it in time but let her stampede to glory against the previous Queen and victory! Row row fight the powuh! Coughs.

Taichi’s broody shot of the week

// Taichi’s Problems – Now Taichi had a bit of a slip this episode, but hopefully this bodes for him becoming A class in the future. There’s a saying that good luck is simply opportunity meeting preparedness (or something along those lines), and applying that to Taichi, I’d say that’s where his ‘bad luck’ comes from. It’s not so much that luck never gives him a break. It’s more like he mentally pushes himself into a corner, so even if there was a super great chance, he probably wouldn’t be mentally prepared enough to take it, or even recognize it. Harada thinks that Taichi is more than ready to become A class, and I don’t doubt his statement since he’s pretty authoritative about the sport. Taichi just needs to… relax a little I guess. He’s the perfect leader for the club when it comes to other people, but his self doubt is certainly a hinderance. It’s like he can see everybody but himself clearly. His memorization skills are phenomenal, and while he’s no Chihaya, I don’t doubt his speed either. All in all, I think he just needs to find the right place in his head and play from there, especially if he wants to face the great Arata at some point in the future. Hopefully he can carry on what he learned here to his A class exam (provided he actually learned something here).

Fun with Chi~

Who would have thought Harada-sensei as a molester? ヾ(´･ ･｀｡)ノ”

We are there with you, Taichi-bro! ಠ_ರೃ

Nikuman-kun and Tsukuba brothers are one big happy family in gobbling ლ(´ڡ`ლ)

Whatever magic you do, witch, nothing on our Taichi-bro yo! ψ(｀∇´)ψ

Amazing Chihaya expressions~ (´ ▽｀).。ｏ♡

So if you couldn’t tell my gushing from above, I absolutely loved this episode. It had just the right amount of the characters (okay, Taichi in specific) stumbling and then coming back from that fall. Maybe they could have made the episode just as great without the characters failing a bit, but it certainly made the episode more interesting. Arata even had quite a few lines this episode too! Plus there was that scene with Chihaya practically bowling over Desk-kun to give Taichi that towel. Sumire is quick to pick up on the fact that Taichi has a thing for Chihaya, but kudos to her character for still being interested in Karuta even after that and not tearing the team apart because of that fact. Yes, this was great to watch on so many levels~ . It looks like there’s a tougher match ahead and I’m not confident that Mizusawa will win since the tournament said that two teams can make it through (you know, so they have a tough rival for later) to the big one (I forget the name) where Chihaya fainted last year. Hopefully Mizusawa learns something from this if they lose though. Character development is always welcome in my books~.

One thing I have to say, Taichi’s a bro and I never thought I would say it but here it is. From being an amazing President of the club (it’s not easy keeping tabs on other games, while you are yourself in deep shit), a helpful supporter for his friends/teammates and just plain old decent. Imagine, every one of us expected lots of drama when Sumire flew across the screen with her concept of over-obsessive love and loud mannerism. Even after her full confession, he treats her as a kouhai in training and nothing else. And even with play slipups and continuous learning, he has been able to keep his mettle and plough on. How can you not admire him with so much character development? I’m slowly siding with Chi-Chi ship, even when I’m so pro-Arata. My life will be hell when their relationship finally gets resolved many, many episode after. Overall, I really loved this episode and look forward to see Mizusawa against Retro-kun’s school. Like Kara said, this would be a tough competition as their team has more skilled/old players. I’m looking for more sparks and match adrenaline! ROAR.

Preview: For a change, you actually know what’s up next but don’t forget to share what you thought of this episode!

6 Responses to “Chihayafuru 2 – 04”

Arata’s Wish: I was thinking (hoping?) the same thing. Arata moves to Tokyo and joins Team Mizusawa. Then they shall rule all of Karuta, mua ha ha ha.

An excellent episode all around.

I really liked the fact that Sumire went to scout Hokuo during the match. As Kara says above, character development is welcome, and her taking an interest in anything other than her love life shows some growth.

That would be the best move, wouldn’t it?! There would be NO STOPPING Mizusawa. We wish!

If she was a love-crazy shoujo all the time, I would be totally off her but like most of the characters in Chihayafuru, not only one trait defines them so I’m liking that her ‘driven’ nature is helping out the team overall.